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Friday, December 18, 2009

Post op day #10

I am 10 days out from my surgery and doing better every day. I still have two drains left, one on each side of my back. They are annoying and the tubing is long, so I have managed to catch it on several different things.....OUCH!! Drain # 3's output continues to lighten in color every day, but Drain # 4 keeps darkening. The output of both is decreasing, but # 4 continues to put out more than # 3. Here's a pic of the two side by side...

I spoke to the Physician's assistant today after sending her a picture of the drainage. She said to watch it and call if the output increases or gets thicker, I get light headed or nauseous, or I start to notice big clots. I have an appointment on Monday.

My incisions are all healing nicely and my pain is manageable with meds. Most of my pain is in my back, which makes it hard to get up, to get comfortable and also to sleep. I wake up through the night when it is time to take my next dose of pain meds.

My appetite has finally started to resurface too. I had lost some weight, due to the small amounts of food I was consuming.

The hardest thing for me to deal with is the restrictions. I can't drive or shower till my drains come out. Sorry, but a shallow bath is just not the same. I am not suppose to lift, push, or pull anything heavier than 5 lbs and my elbow cannot be raised above my shoulder. That pretty much leaves me useless and I hate relying on others to do things for me.

3 comments:

You aren't doing well, you are doing AMAZING! Just look back at the first journal entry you wrote at the start of this journey and see how far you've come. You thought this day would take forever to get here and now here you are. Recovery is an exhausting and emotionally draining process (no pun intended ;) ) but you are doing it with beauty and grace. Hang in there, you are so blessed! We are so blessed to know someone so inspirational. ((Hug))

On May 9th 2008, I graduated from nursing school, excited to take my boards, and begin my career as an RN.; May 28th 2008, my world was turned completely upside down, when the doctor told me I had breast cancer at the age of 29. This is my blog that documents my journey through breast cancer and beyond.